Flush valve



March A15, 1932. Y w,l C, wRlGH-r 1,849,129

' FLUSH VALVE V Filed sept. 6, 1928 7 5 l f nl.' il J1 7 ,l l z a6 6' I 9. 1 i g 135:20 .z2 37 55' y 56 5' *4l e@ 12 Z UT-"HT --l i 1 j' 2 6 J5 E y.9 JQ 2 Eff@ i ratented Mar. 71.932" i i Y' l WARRRNc. WRIGHT, o IfoHIeAso; ILLINOIs Y 'y vAIivr;` 4

Application ledseptember 6*, '1928.v v4*Serial No. 304,203. v

v 50 through, and,such passage'includes acham- This invention relates tovv flush valvesfor toilet fixtures, such as bowls and the like.

In my copending application, Serial-,Na 284,132, I have shown, described,` and claimeda flush: valve of the piston'operatingtype, with the auxiliary ',orrelief valve for' controlling the operation of the main valve.v The relief valve isopenedjthrough the actuation 'of a lever by a plunger, constitutingpart of 1o the handle operating'niechanisrn of the valve device. The plunger carries lat its inner end within the valve housinga spring; controlled "'depressible pin,which ifheld in yvalve-open- -ing position after'startingtheflushing operafr tion of the valvfe will be in the path of .down-vv ward' movement ofthe -leverwithl the `main .valve and depress the'` pin so as not to un- .seat the auxiliary valve in the closing move- ;ment of the main valve. 'VVliile there-areno .f objections tothe use `of, this depressible` pin or member on the plungerthe lfact vthat a spring is employed makes it necessary to depend on astructure which might in time break or fail Aand also requires vthat ,special 'fittings i' Q25 be made to 'house and mount the pin and the spring, all' contributing to the expense of the manufactureY of the entirevalve assembly.

' The yobj ect of i the present. invention is jto.

overcome the use' of thejgpinand-its'spring,

Y. f and I do this by providing av simple and inexpensive gravity acting member l `asscv ciated vwith the lower end ofthe lever and the adjacent end of the plungensaidgmember receiving the end thrust of thesplunger to open the 1 35 relief valve, but'moving upward ori-.contact y The lspaces betweenthe webs 114V and the guide V"10j"provide lthe discharge passages for the valve when the main valve Gis open.

with thel plunger inthe closing ofthe main valve to prevent unseating'of Athe relief valve should the plunger vberetainedin valve openjing position, as happensfwhentheoperating 1 .40 handle is `,not released after startinga flush.

In the accompanying drawingse Fig. 1 is a verticalsectional viewthrough a f valveassembly containing the 'triggerfof my invention;a11d

Fig. 2 illustrates the action of the trigger.v

The valve device of my -inventioncomprises a main vhousing lof cast brass or vother suit ablematerial.l The housing 1A is provided with a passage for the flowro'f liquids .thereber 2 Within the housing andinlet and .outlet connections 3, 4 at, opposite ends of the Ypassage with the inlet 'connection l3 inV constant communication with the-chamberQ.

yThe chamberv 2 is dividedfronithe outlet :'55 .connection 31by an lupright cylindric wall. ,5. l,having its lower kend cast integral Awith the V housing land opening into the;y outlet connection 4. ySaid wall' 5` extend-s v.upward through the chamber 2 and has itsupper end '60 forming a1 seat for the main valve @which controls the flow of fluidsthrough the housing 1 from inlet 3 to outlet 4.v The connections 3 and-4ma`y be threaded'for attach# ,men't to the source of water supplyl and toilet -05 fixture, respectively,l l p N v The main valvej forms partofapiston 7 Vwhich has a sliding fit in a cylindric vchamber 8'provided'in the housinglfaboveV ythe chamber 2 and formingan upward continua- 70 tion thereof. The piston V7 has'V a 'sealing leather QwhiChengagesthe innerl wall of the chamber 8 toseal it from the chamber 2in all positions of the piston.

' The piston 7 has a centrally disposed tubuv75 lar guide 10 which 4extends ,downward-into the' wall 5, said` guide having radial webs 11 .which engage-the inner surface, ofthe wal-l 5tok guide the piston vin its up: and down movements in the openingV and closing of the lmainvalve 6. Agasket 12. is: suitably Vsecured to the undersideV of the piston "2'l about the, guide 10 tov seat'against the upper end of l thewall 5' when'V the mainvalvebis closed and cuts o l the flow of liquids'from 3 to 4. 85

A tubular'projection 13 `extends upward `'from the ,piston 7 and is provided at'its upper 9o fend with aegasket `14 which provides a seat 'for a relief 'or auxiliary valve 15. The valve 15 Vhas a stem 16 which extendsdownward. through the projection 13 and into thev guide "10 through a bearing spider 17 .at theupper 95 endro'ftheguide.` The spider 17 holds thev Y valve -lcentral .and guides it in the vertical.

opening and closing movements. Y l l To close the auxiliary valve 15and main- V'tain'it tight against itsV seat, a coiled spring 10o reducer for the valve device.

18 is provided about the stem 16 between the spider 17 and an arm 19, to the lower end of which the stem is connected. Said arm 19 is one of the arms of a bell-crank lever 20 fulcrumed at 21 between lugs 22 carried by the guide 10 at the upper end of avertical slot 23 in the guide 10. K

A by-pass 26 is cored in the housing` 1 on the intake side of the valve and opens at its lower end into the inlet connection 3 andat its upper end into the chamber 8 above the' piston 7. A timing pin 27 controls the flow of liquids into chamber 8 from the intake connection 3. Y Y

The upper surface of the piston 7 as exposed to the water pressure in'chamber 8 is greater in area than the under surface of the piston which is exposed to the water pressure in the chamber 2 when the valve 6 is closed. The result is that, although the pressure on opposite sides of the piste-n will be the same as on the intake side of the valve, the valve 6'will be held closed against its seat by reason of the larger area exposed to the pressure in chamber 8.

A coiled spring 29 is located in the chamber 8 above the piston 7 and provides a pressure The nut 30 on the stud 31 allows for adjustment of the tension of the spring to set the valve todischarge at the pressure desired. y

For opening the auxiliary valve 15 to relieve the pressure in the chamber 8 so that the main valve 6 may be opened by the pressure on its under side, the following actuating mechanism is provided.

A plunger 32 is slidably mounted in a tubular guide 33 carried by a boss 34 cast integral with the housingl 1 and extending outward therefrom, as shown. A union 35 is screwed on the outer end of the boss 34 and clamps the guide 33 thereto. An oscillating handle 36 is supported by the union 35, and a coiled spring 37 in theunion 35 normally maintains the outer end of the plunger 32 against the innerend of the handle 36 so that the plunger will be moved inward by the handle in i any direction that the handle may be osoillated. i

The lower arm 38 of the lever 2O is shaped to have its lower end spaced inward from the inner end of the plunger 32, so that a gravity Aacting member 39 may lie between the plunger and the lever when the valves are Closed. The gravity acting member may :be in the form of a. trigger 39, which is pivoted at 40 to the lower end of the arm 38 in a slot therein. The arrangement is such that the trigger 39, when the valves are closed, stands at right-angles to the lever in horizontal alignment with the plunger. The lever arm 38 has a stop lug above the trigger and on the side opposite the plunger tov prevent the trigger from swinging' out of horizontal alignment with the plunger when the valves are closed and the plunger released.

rlhe pivot 40 is nearer the end of the trigger on the side remote from the plunger so that the trigger will have its longest position nearest the plunger and thus drop by its own weight againstthe stop 41. This avoids the useof springs which are likely to fail by breakage when the valve is in use.

ATo open the relief. valve 15 to start the flusliing'operation, the plnger 32 is moved inward by oscillating the handle 36. This thrusts the inner end of the plunger 32 against they trigger 39` and swings the lower arm of the lever 2O inward. The result is that the upper arm 19 of the lever is swung upward, and the relief valve 15 is unseated. This relieves Vthe pressure in the chamber 8 and the piston-7 moves upward carrying` the lever 20'therewith. vThis carries the trigger 39 above and out of Contact with the plunger 32,- and the relief valve 15 closes by the action of the spring 18. The trigger is so proportioned that itremains in abutting Contact with thegplunger 32 for substantially the full opening movement of the main valve 6, thereby insuring va full opening of said valve because the trigger does not releasefrom the plunger to allow the relief valve to close until the main valve has reached the upper limit of its opening movement. Pressure builds Vup in the chamber 8 through the by-pass 26 as soon as'the relief valve closes and the main valve 6 closes cutting off the flow from 3 to 4.

Should .the handle 36 be held in valve opening position during the descent of the main valve 6, the plunger 32 will be in the path of downwardmovement of the trigger 39. The latter, however, on contact with thel plunger will swing upward about its pivot 40 and prevent the unseating of the relief valve 15, as shown in Fig. 2. When the handle 36 is'released, the plunger 32 will be retractedl by spring'37, freeing the trigger 39 and allowing it to drop by gravity into its yhorizontal position inline with the plunger for again opening the relief valve when another flush is desired."

The trigger 39 provides a simple and inexpensive form of release between the lever 20 and the plunger 32 and, working at all times by gravity, avoids the use and expense of spring or like means to return the trigger to its normal position or to retain it in that position when out of contact with the plunger.

rlhe details of structure shown and describedrmay be variously changed and Inodified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a liush valve, a main valve, an auxiliary valve carried'thereby, a pivoted lever carried by the main valve, a plunger for Vswinging the lever to open the auxiliary valve, said lever having its lower end olf-set 'inwardly from the plunger, andl a gravity acting member carried by the lower off-set end of the lever, said member being normally inv axial alinement with the plunger when both valves are closed to receive-the thrust of the` plunger when opening the-auxiliary valve, but permitting the main. valve to close with-I out unseating the auxiliary valve should the plunger be retained inthe path of the memer. i f

2. In a flush valve, a main valve, an auX- iliary valve carried thereby, a pivoted lever carried by the main' valve, a yplunger for swinging the lever 'to open thev auxiliary valve, said lever having its lower end off-set inwardly from the plunger, a gravity acting trigger pivotally carried at'the off-'set lower end of the lever to receive the thrust of the plunger when opening the auxiliaryv valve, and a stop to prevent the trigger fromswinging out of position for engagement by the plunger when released therefrom.

3. In a ilush valve, a main valve, an auxiliary valve carried thereby, a pivoted 'lever carried by the main valve, a plunger for swinging the lever to open-the auxiliary valve, and a trigger pivoted to the lever and extending toward the plunger in axial alignment therewith to receive the'thrust thereof when opening the auxiliary valve, said trigger re-Y maining in abutting contact with the plunger for susbtantially the entire opening movement of the main valve,

4. In a iiushvalve, a main v alve, an auxiliary valve carried thereby, a pivoted bellcrank lever carried by the main valve and having one arm engaged with the auxiliary valve, and the Vother arm oi-set inwardly a spring for closing Vthe auxiliary valve and holding the lever in its normal position, a' gravity acting member'carriedby the offset arm of the lever,.an`d a plunger movable against said membery to swing the lever to open the auxiliary valve, said member -movthe discharge and forming a seat for the open the auxiliary valve and movable in said slot, actuating vmeans for swinging thelever to open the auxiliary valve, said lever hav- Ving its end at said actuating means oii'set inwardly therefrom andV gravity acting means carried by the oiset end ofsaid lever to receive the thrust of the actuating means and vpermittingthefmain valve to close without,4 unseating the auxiliary valve regardless of.

the position of the actuating means.

In testimonywhereof I aiiixmy signature. l

WARREN c, WRIGHT.

ing with respect to said lever on contact with A the plunger in the closing. of the main valve should the plunger be heldin the path of the member. Y Y

5.v In a flush valve, a main valve, an auxliary valve carried thereby, a'bellcrank leverl .carried by said main valve and havingrone end engaged with the auxiliary valve, a spring for closing theauxiliary valve and holding the lever to its normal position, and a trigger pivoted to the other arm ofthe lever to receive the thrust of the plunger when opening the auxiliary valve, the Alast mentioned arm being shaped to have its portion adjacent the plunger offset inwardly therefrom so that the trigger when free will be in direct axial alignment with the plunger.

6. In a flush valve, a housing having an inlet and a discharge, a main valve controlling the flow of liquids from the inlet to the discharge, a cylinder dividing the inlet from 

